Farm Katahdin Sheep

[Dux]

I'm going to get 4 babies next month, 1 boy, 3 girls. Why waste money on gas when they'll eat the grass? We have about 2 acres. Some fencing would be nice. I hope our old dog can be enough to deflect coyotes. He's not a guardian dog, but gentle with our ducks and cats, 90 pounds. The poodle can't be trusted for a very long time.

This kind of sheep is for meat, doesn't grow wool just hair. No shearing. Kind of ugly and defenseless looking. Said to be friendly, docile, even the rams.

 

[summerthyme]

Errr... "some fencing would be nice?"!! If you don't have really good fences and some shelter, slow down!

Summerthyme

 

[Dux]

Some *more* fencing. We have a great barn and 2 large, fenced pastures. Another one with just a few feet of fencing left to do. I was thinking about a temporary electric wire thing so we could get other spots mowed down. Yes, I've thought it through. A little *more* fencing is all that I would want.

 

[summerthyme]

Sheep can be really tough to keep confined. They often don't respect electric fences, and barbed wired doesn't even slow them down. It generally takes woven wore or 7 strands high tensile, with 5 hot. They can be a royal PITA.

Summerthyme

 

[Babs]

I have owned Katahdins for quite a while. We have them in 47" field fencing. We have never had one get out, unless someone left the gate open. They will rub on the fencing during shedding season and create bows in the fence, yet still none have gotten out.

I wouldn't say that they are friendly. Ours are quite skiddish and not very curious, and the rams are not aggressive. Our Dorpers and St. Croix are much more curious and the rams are much more aggressive.

I really like the Katahdins. The meat is very good. The best lamb meat we've had, however, was from Romney sheep. I haven't been able to locate any since we've been in the west part of the country.

You may want to separate out that Ram until your girls are mature as they are ready to breed very early.

 

[Dux]

You may want to separate out that Ram until your girls are mature as they are ready to breed very early.

Do you have age ranges in mind for not breeding? They'll all be the same age when I pick up in May.

 

[Freeholder]

I have owned Katahdins for quite a while. We have them in 47" field fencing. We have never had one get out, unless someone left the gate open. They will rub on the fencing during shedding season and create bows in the fence, yet still none have gotten out.

I wouldn't say that they are friendly. Ours are quite skiddish and not very curious, and the rams are not aggressive. Our Dorpers and St. Croix are much more curious and the rams are much more aggressive.

I really like the Katahdins. The meat is very good. The best lamb meat we've had, however, was from Romney sheep. I haven't been able to locate any since we've been in the west part of the country.

You may want to separate out that Ram until your girls are mature as they are ready to breed very early.

I don't know about now, and I'm not sure where you are, but forty years ago, Romneys were quite common in western Oregon. Apparently their fleeces handled the winter rains better than most. I think a lot of people have gone to hair sheep, though.

Kathleen

 

[Babs]

Do you have age ranges in mind for not breeding? They'll all be the same age when I pick up in May.

I don't breed any earlier than 12 months. A ram has the ability to breed much younger however.

 

[Babs]

Do you have age ranges in mind for not breeding? They'll all be the same age when I pick up in May.

Dux, I wanted to expound a little, but I'm having internet issues. We've got some weather rolling in and my connection is going in and out. Ewes can often be bred as early as 5 months, however, they don't make good mothers, and lamb losses are higher. I know some breed at 8 months, or at a specific weight and have not many issues, but I've never needed to breed them that early, and I think you get healthier stock if you wait. On the other hand, things are going sideways and someone may want to breed them earlier just to have meat earlier. You should do a little reading up on it and determine what will best serve your needs.

 

[WalknTrot]

Fencing is needed not only to keep sheep confined but to keep predators out. Coyotes, bears and wolves are one thing, but the worst predator by far is probably dogs. Both the neighborhood ne'r-do-wells, and quite possibly your own. Dogs will run them to death, or shred them to ribbons and the sheep die from shock. Sheep's skin is surprisingly thin and easily torn.

Plan fencing to be appropriately sturdy.
Sheep - Read: mini, super low center of gravity, highly motivated by what's-on-the-other-side-or-anywhere-else, very strong for their size, bulldozers. What barriers they can't mow down quickly by force, they will eventually overcome by attrition.

Hahaha...oh...and yes, wool is a great insulator from electric fence zaps.

 

[LYKURGOS]

Katahdins are what we started with 15 years ago. One barbedoux ewe was in the mix and she was incredibly wild but prolific. I like the gentle nature of katahdins and cross them with Dorper rams to put a black head and bigger butt on the offspring. Dorpers don’t shed as well as most Katahdin sheep we have run across. Have lost more to stray dogs than anything. But coyotes will pack a lamb like it’s a happy meal.
1 year is a good target. Generally they may get bred earlier but won’t usually come in till they are more than 80 lbs. our ewes run with the ram most of the time and always lamb in Jan-feb just in time for Passover market

 

[Dux]

I don't need the meat nor the money. Just a bit of doomer mixed with the cost of running a mower. I'll see about separating the ram, even though he's a herd animal, so it might be hard that way.

We definitely have coyotes. But even with ducks, they haven't come by our property. I figure there's some skirmishes with my dogs that I don't know about.

 

[Broken Arrow]

Compared to having livestock with the possibility of vet bills plus buying hay for winter or if you lose your grass early, a can of gas is much cheaper.

 

[Dux]

Don't worry about me Broken Arrow. I spend 2-3 hours weekly on my riding mower. Time to pass the torch to the pros.

 

[Broken Arrow]

okie dokie

 

[Dux]

I found the perfect answer; temporary electric fencing. Move it around when you want another area grazed off. Predators will be repelled, too. Comes in packages of various lengths, and a solar electric box.

 

[summerthyme]

I found the perfect answer; temporary electric fencing. Move it around when you want another area grazed off. Predators will be repelled, too. Comes in packages of various lengths, and a solar electric box.

Yes, it's great. But please he careful, and buy some with mesh small enough they can't stick their heads through. Our son bought the sheep fence for 9 weaned lambs he was raising for the summer. Had them in a 40'x 40' area... plenty big. Came home from work to find 7 dead lambs... they apparently stuck their heads through the mesh, got zapped by the electricity, and being sheep, went nuts. They all strangled.

Summerthyme

 

[Dux]

I went to a sheep ranch. What do you do with the poop? It's like human in size and consistency. I thought it would be like pellets. Ugh.

 

[summerthyme]

I went to a sheep ranch. What do you do with the poop? It's like human in size and consistency. I thought it would be like pellets. Ugh.

We're they feeding grain? Soft, or even liquid manure, is common in most grazing species in the spring when on lush pasture or when being fed significant amounts of grain. Dairy farmers can actually judge whether their animals are getting sufficient - or excess- protein by the consistency of the manure! But grass fed animals absolutely have softer manure than those being fed hay.

If you have biologically active soil, it will break down quickly. Sheep manure is much less of a problem than cow or horse...both of those species generally need to be broken up or spread out to break down quickly enough. If you don't, you end up with individual clumps of course, dark green grass at every manure pile, and the animals WILL NOT eat it. This is a protective mechanism that keeps them from reinvesting worms passed in the manure.

We made a chain drag with a couple old tractor tire chains wired together, and would drag the pasture behind the cows. Pasture management (even if it's your lawn, or maybe *especially* if it's your lawn!) is vital. Sheep were designed to be nomadic... keeping them on the same area all the time is a recipe for overgrazing (which will kill the good grasses, leaving only the unpalatable weeds) and major parasite problems. Look up MIG (managed intensive grazing) or rotational grazing.

Summerthyme

 

[Freeholder]

Yes, it's great. But please he careful, and buy some with mesh small enough they can't stick their heads through. Our son bought the sheep fence for 9 weaned lambs he was raising for the summer. Had them in a 40'x 40' area... plenty big. Came home from work to find 7 dead lambs... they apparently stuck their heads through the mesh, got zapped by the electricity, and being sheep, went nuts. They all strangled.

Summerthyme

We lost a lamb the same way when we used electric net fencing for sheep one year. We blamed it partially on the fact that the lamb was blind, but it sounds like that probably didn't have much to do with it.

Kathleen

 

[Freeholder]

We're they feeding grain? Soft, or even liquid manure, is common in most grazing species in the spring when on lush pasture or when being fed significant amounts of grain. Dairy farmers can actually judge whether their animals are getting sufficient - or excess- protein by the consistency of the manure! But grass fed animals absolutely have softer manure than those being fed hay.

If you have biologically active soil, it will break down quickly. Sheep manure is much less of a problem than cow or horse...both of those species generally need to be broken up or spread out to break down quickly enough. If you don't, you end up with individual clumps of course, dark green grass at every manure pile, and the animals WILL NOT eat it. This is a protective mechanism that keeps them from reinvesting worms passed in the manure.

We made a chain drag with a couple old tractor tire chains wired together, and would drag the pasture behind the cows. Pasture management (even if it's your lawn, or maybe *especially* if it's your lawn!) is vital. Sheep were designed to be nomadic... keeping them on the same area all the time is a recipe for overgrazing (which will kill the good grasses, leaving only the unpalatable weeds) and major parasite problems. Look up MIG (managed intensive grazing) or rotational grazing.

Summerthyme

This is also the reason why some people move flocks of chickens along behind their cows -- the chickens scratch the manure piles up, looking for bugs (run the chickens a few days behind the cows, to allow time for bugs to get into the manure).

Kathleen

 

[Dux]

Grass is lush here, and we were in the 'sacrifice' pasture. We have 4 fenced in areas for rotation. We don't have chickens but we are getting fly bags, which are an issue with our ducks. We have a chain for our tractor. Good to hear that their manure breaks down more easily than horses. Spent so many hours breaking up horse apples, no thanks on that. I was anticipating little to no pasture management...

 

[summerthyme]

This is also the reason why some people move flocks of chickens along behind their cows -- the chickens scratch the manure piles up, looking for bugs (run the chickens a few days behind the cows, to allow time for bugs to get into the manure).

Kathleen

Yep....,we are grazing cattle, then sheep, then the meat chickens and laying hens this year. I'm going to be interested in seeing how it does. We don't feed any grain unless we are finishing steers, so there isn't as much incentive for the birds to get too interested in the manure (they will eat bugs, but LOVE manure from grain fed cows!)

Our farm we sold was super biologically active after 40 years of no chemicals... we didn't have any need to drag pastures, as the manure disappeared in two weeks or less..

Summerthyme

 

[Dux]